Book Review: American Industry and the European Immigrant 1860-1885 by Charlotte Erickson

home, Americans who came for a "surprise party," and a Swedish
B a r o n sent to America i n the expectation that he might be able to
overcome alcoholism. Working for the Lindgrens was Prins, a negro
"Exoduster,*' f r om the South, seeking new freedom.
The letters early indicate the desire to return to Sweden, and by
1875 it was only a matter of time and circumstance until the return
journey would be made. In that year, Hugo, the oldest son, now 20,
returned to the land of his birth. His great success enabled him to
work out arrangements for the rest of the family to join him, ex­cept
Olga, the oldest daughter, now Mrs. Harding, the mother of
three children. I n April, 1881, the Lindgrens were in Sweden.
Many factors might be cited in an attempt to interpret the desire
of the Lindgrens to return to Sweden. Gustaf was almost 50 when
he came to Kansas; Ida was 41. Life on the Kansas prairie had been
strenuous. The Lindgrens were quite isolated from a Swedish com­munity.
Perhaps identification with a flourishing Swedish settlement,
such as the one at Lindsborg, 80 miles distant, might have made a
difference.
These letters describe an honest and honorable attempt to build a
destiny in the New World. The descriptions of men and events are
fascinating and illuminating. These letters, in this reviewer's opinion,
have no equal in the literature of pioneer Swedish immigrants. They
deserve a larger American audience than this fine Swedish edition
will provide.
EMORY LINDQUIST
U n i v e r s i t y of W i c h i ta
W i c h i t a , K a n s as
AMERICAN I N D U S T R Y A N D T H E EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT
1860-1885. By Charlotte Erickson. Harvard University Press, Cam­bridge,
Massachusetts, 1957. 269 pp. $4.75.
In May, 1882, the editor of the Philadelphia T i m e s sensed some of the
drama and much of the mystery implicit in the epic of the American
immigrant: " A s he comes down the gangplank, staggering under the
weight of baggage that would break the back of a mule, the average
European immigrant knows nothing about American institutions. He
dumps his trap on the wharf, sits down to eat his bread and cheese,
and then moves o n . In twelve hours he has disappeared." If such
a stranger had little conception of the customs and traditions of his
new home, it is equally true that Americans for the most part sum­med
up their own limited knowledge of him in words like "foreigner"
or "bohunk". In A m e r i c a n I n d u s t r y a n d t h e E u r o p e a n I m m i g r a nt
130
Dr. Charlotte Erickson gives her readers a significant insight into
the circumstances and characters which formed a major chapter in
the history of immigration. It is a tribute to Dr. Erickson's scholar­ship
and humanity that she has refused to allow the immigrant to
"disappear" within a few hours after his arrival in America.
Since many Americans are the children of immigrants, writers on
immigration history like Dr. Erickson have a potentially wide circle
of readers interested in fitting the story of their own forefathers into
the larger picture of immigration. The historian who follows the im­migrant
from fatherland to new home in America is constantly con­fronted
with the elements of a great play, the drama of human deci­sion.
How could men and women screw up their courage to the
point where they were willing to break family ties and entrust their
lives to an unknown sea and at last to an unknown land, far from
the cradles and graves of their ancestors? Why did they come?
What did they do when they arrived in America? A m e r i c a n I n d u s ­t
r y and t h e E u r o p e a n I m m i g r a n t seeks to answer some of these ques­tions.
Many agencies, public and private, directed emigration from Eur­ope
to America. Some historians have assumed that numerous Euro­peans
came to America between 1860-1880 as contract laborers—that
is, would-be employers placed them under contracts whereby they
were enabled to work out their passage fares after arriving in the
United States. Dr. Erickson challenges this conventional interpreta­tion
by producing evidence to indicate that the contract-labor phase
of immigration has been greatly exaggerated. Apparently, relatively
few immigrants fell in the category of contract laborers. Dr. Erick­son
concludes, however, that this mistaken interpretation, once so
common among historians, helped to create a state of hostility be­tween
the American organized labor movement and foreigners who
came to this country. Leaders of organized labor, particularly those
prominent in the Knights of Labor organization in the 1880's took
the position that employers frequently used contract laborers from
abroad to break strikes initiated by union workers in America. Even
after Congress banned the practice of contract labor, the native
American interested in the cause of unionization looked with suspi­cion
upon the foreign worker who might be used to break strikes.
While immigrants were probably less victimized by the contract-labor
system than has generally been assumed, they were never­theless
open to exploitation in other ways. Immigrant agents fur­bished
up a stock of glib promises to convince potential immigrants.
Sometimes these agents were aided by officials of the United States
government stationed in Europe. The American consuls in Stock­holm
and Bergen in 1864, for example, were involved in a scheme to
131
promote emigration from Sweden and Norway in order to provide
workers for the copper mines in the Lake Superior region. Prospec­tive
immigrants were promised travel accommodations and good jobs
in America. However, the ship which was to carry them from Go­thenburg
to America was detained by the Swedish government be­cause
of failure to provide adequately for passenger safety. On the
other hand, when more than a hundred families arrived in the port
of Bergen from the interior of Norway, they were left stranded since
the promised passage to America was not forthcoming. When they
became destitute after waiting for weeks to board a ship, they were
sent back to their own homes at public expense. Such misadven­tures
gave point to the criticism leveled against immigrant agents by
the press and government. Even the king was impelled to caution
his subjects. Royal posters appeared in Stockholm and the provinces:
"Those who may be enticed to emigrate" should not thoughtlessly
"abandon their fatherland."
H e m l a n d e t , the Swedish language newspaper printed in Chicago,
at first gave hearty endorsement to activities of immigrant agents
like the American Emigrant Company. When stories reached the
editors of the paper later, accounts which indicated that Swedish im­migrants
had been misled by the company's advertising, H e m l a n d e t
concluded that immigrants must weigh very carefully promises
made by immigrant agents.
Scandinavian consular officials in America were disturbed by the
extent of destitution among Swedish immigrants. After paying the
cost of his trip an immigrant usually had little left to supply his
needs until he could secure work. Immigrants came to consular of­ficials
for aid. Sometimes they had been without food for days and
had been forced to sleep in city parks.
Dr. Erickson writes: "Characteristically, the first efforts to assist
immigrants were made by Scandinavians already settled in the city
[Chicago] . . . Both the greatest assistance and also the greatest
frauds were rendered by their fellow countrymen." Thus, the Scan­dinavian
Immigrant Hjälpförening was organized through voluntary
gifts from Swedish Lutherans in Chicago. The newcomers were
housed in an old freight depot at first. Later the Swedes built immi­grant
houses on Illinois Street in Chicago. But such efforts were
far from effective in protecting immigrants against unscrupulous ex­ploitation
by boardinghouse keepers and so-called immigrant run­ners
who abused the immigrants in matters of employment.
While much of Dr. Erickson's book deals with recruitment in Eur­ope
and distribution of immigrants in America, it contains many fas­cinating
facets of the broader story of immigrant history. The au-
132
thor has maintained the highest standards of scholarship without al­lowing
her writing to bog down in pedantic trivia.
Note on the author: Charlotte Erickson (Mrs. G. L. Watt) is a lec­turer
on history at the London School of Economics. Dr. Erickson
completed her undergraduate work at Augustana College in Rock
Island, Illinois, as a student of Dr. O. F. Ander. Later she studied
under Professor Paul Gates at Cornell where she received her doc­torate.
The recipient of several research scholarships, Dr. Erickson
spent seven years in preparing this volume. She approaches the
story of the immigrant in America out of a family background which
is predominantly Swedish. Her father's parents emigrated to Ameri­ca
after the Civil War, while her mother is a, descendant of a Swed­ish
pioneer family which settled in Minnesota during the days of
homesteads and sod houses.
JAMES IVERNE DOWIE
A u g u s t a n a C o l l e ge
L I N C O L N I M A G E S ; A U G U S T A N A C O L L E G E C E N T E N N I A L E S ­S
A Y S , O. Fritiof Ander (ed.), Rock Island, Augustana College L i ­brary,
1960. 151 pp., $3.95.
This book offers seven essays on Lincoln, all of them readable and
useful. Two of these are bibliographical; one a survey of the total
Lincoln literature, asking whether anything more remains to be
written on the subjects; the other a useful listing of Lincolniana
available at the Library of Augustana College.
The five substantive essays have to do with aspects of Lincoln's
life. Fritiof Ander's "Lincoln and the Founders of Augustana Col­lege"
has already appeared in this journal [ S w e d i s h P i o n e e r , April,
1960] and needs no review.
T. Harry Williams describes the changing moods of historians as
they have inquired into the causes of the Civil War, and suggests
that different times produce different ideas about the past. The i n ­terested
layman should find in this essay several reliable aids to the
sorting out of "party opinion" among the historians.
Robert Sutton's image of Lincoln as "one of the successful, if not
the most successful, corporation lawyer in the state of Illinois," is
drawn delightfully. He traces the rise of railroads and the rise of
Lincoln in parallel columns as it were, and the resulting vignette will
be especially useful to those who persist in seeing Lincoln as beyond
ordinary mortal cares. In this connection, it is well to remember
Fritiof Ander's comment that the Swedes were not much interested
133

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home, Americans who came for a "surprise party," and a Swedish
B a r o n sent to America i n the expectation that he might be able to
overcome alcoholism. Working for the Lindgrens was Prins, a negro
"Exoduster,*' f r om the South, seeking new freedom.
The letters early indicate the desire to return to Sweden, and by
1875 it was only a matter of time and circumstance until the return
journey would be made. In that year, Hugo, the oldest son, now 20,
returned to the land of his birth. His great success enabled him to
work out arrangements for the rest of the family to join him, ex­cept
Olga, the oldest daughter, now Mrs. Harding, the mother of
three children. I n April, 1881, the Lindgrens were in Sweden.
Many factors might be cited in an attempt to interpret the desire
of the Lindgrens to return to Sweden. Gustaf was almost 50 when
he came to Kansas; Ida was 41. Life on the Kansas prairie had been
strenuous. The Lindgrens were quite isolated from a Swedish com­munity.
Perhaps identification with a flourishing Swedish settlement,
such as the one at Lindsborg, 80 miles distant, might have made a
difference.
These letters describe an honest and honorable attempt to build a
destiny in the New World. The descriptions of men and events are
fascinating and illuminating. These letters, in this reviewer's opinion,
have no equal in the literature of pioneer Swedish immigrants. They
deserve a larger American audience than this fine Swedish edition
will provide.
EMORY LINDQUIST
U n i v e r s i t y of W i c h i ta
W i c h i t a , K a n s as
AMERICAN I N D U S T R Y A N D T H E EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT
1860-1885. By Charlotte Erickson. Harvard University Press, Cam­bridge,
Massachusetts, 1957. 269 pp. $4.75.
In May, 1882, the editor of the Philadelphia T i m e s sensed some of the
drama and much of the mystery implicit in the epic of the American
immigrant: " A s he comes down the gangplank, staggering under the
weight of baggage that would break the back of a mule, the average
European immigrant knows nothing about American institutions. He
dumps his trap on the wharf, sits down to eat his bread and cheese,
and then moves o n . In twelve hours he has disappeared." If such
a stranger had little conception of the customs and traditions of his
new home, it is equally true that Americans for the most part sum­med
up their own limited knowledge of him in words like "foreigner"
or "bohunk". In A m e r i c a n I n d u s t r y a n d t h e E u r o p e a n I m m i g r a nt
130
Dr. Charlotte Erickson gives her readers a significant insight into
the circumstances and characters which formed a major chapter in
the history of immigration. It is a tribute to Dr. Erickson's scholar­ship
and humanity that she has refused to allow the immigrant to
"disappear" within a few hours after his arrival in America.
Since many Americans are the children of immigrants, writers on
immigration history like Dr. Erickson have a potentially wide circle
of readers interested in fitting the story of their own forefathers into
the larger picture of immigration. The historian who follows the im­migrant
from fatherland to new home in America is constantly con­fronted
with the elements of a great play, the drama of human deci­sion.
How could men and women screw up their courage to the
point where they were willing to break family ties and entrust their
lives to an unknown sea and at last to an unknown land, far from
the cradles and graves of their ancestors? Why did they come?
What did they do when they arrived in America? A m e r i c a n I n d u s ­t
r y and t h e E u r o p e a n I m m i g r a n t seeks to answer some of these ques­tions.
Many agencies, public and private, directed emigration from Eur­ope
to America. Some historians have assumed that numerous Euro­peans
came to America between 1860-1880 as contract laborers—that
is, would-be employers placed them under contracts whereby they
were enabled to work out their passage fares after arriving in the
United States. Dr. Erickson challenges this conventional interpreta­tion
by producing evidence to indicate that the contract-labor phase
of immigration has been greatly exaggerated. Apparently, relatively
few immigrants fell in the category of contract laborers. Dr. Erick­son
concludes, however, that this mistaken interpretation, once so
common among historians, helped to create a state of hostility be­tween
the American organized labor movement and foreigners who
came to this country. Leaders of organized labor, particularly those
prominent in the Knights of Labor organization in the 1880's took
the position that employers frequently used contract laborers from
abroad to break strikes initiated by union workers in America. Even
after Congress banned the practice of contract labor, the native
American interested in the cause of unionization looked with suspi­cion
upon the foreign worker who might be used to break strikes.
While immigrants were probably less victimized by the contract-labor
system than has generally been assumed, they were never­theless
open to exploitation in other ways. Immigrant agents fur­bished
up a stock of glib promises to convince potential immigrants.
Sometimes these agents were aided by officials of the United States
government stationed in Europe. The American consuls in Stock­holm
and Bergen in 1864, for example, were involved in a scheme to
131
promote emigration from Sweden and Norway in order to provide
workers for the copper mines in the Lake Superior region. Prospec­tive
immigrants were promised travel accommodations and good jobs
in America. However, the ship which was to carry them from Go­thenburg
to America was detained by the Swedish government be­cause
of failure to provide adequately for passenger safety. On the
other hand, when more than a hundred families arrived in the port
of Bergen from the interior of Norway, they were left stranded since
the promised passage to America was not forthcoming. When they
became destitute after waiting for weeks to board a ship, they were
sent back to their own homes at public expense. Such misadven­tures
gave point to the criticism leveled against immigrant agents by
the press and government. Even the king was impelled to caution
his subjects. Royal posters appeared in Stockholm and the provinces:
"Those who may be enticed to emigrate" should not thoughtlessly
"abandon their fatherland."
H e m l a n d e t , the Swedish language newspaper printed in Chicago,
at first gave hearty endorsement to activities of immigrant agents
like the American Emigrant Company. When stories reached the
editors of the paper later, accounts which indicated that Swedish im­migrants
had been misled by the company's advertising, H e m l a n d e t
concluded that immigrants must weigh very carefully promises
made by immigrant agents.
Scandinavian consular officials in America were disturbed by the
extent of destitution among Swedish immigrants. After paying the
cost of his trip an immigrant usually had little left to supply his
needs until he could secure work. Immigrants came to consular of­ficials
for aid. Sometimes they had been without food for days and
had been forced to sleep in city parks.
Dr. Erickson writes: "Characteristically, the first efforts to assist
immigrants were made by Scandinavians already settled in the city
[Chicago] . . . Both the greatest assistance and also the greatest
frauds were rendered by their fellow countrymen." Thus, the Scan­dinavian
Immigrant Hjälpförening was organized through voluntary
gifts from Swedish Lutherans in Chicago. The newcomers were
housed in an old freight depot at first. Later the Swedes built immi­grant
houses on Illinois Street in Chicago. But such efforts were
far from effective in protecting immigrants against unscrupulous ex­ploitation
by boardinghouse keepers and so-called immigrant run­ners
who abused the immigrants in matters of employment.
While much of Dr. Erickson's book deals with recruitment in Eur­ope
and distribution of immigrants in America, it contains many fas­cinating
facets of the broader story of immigrant history. The au-
132
thor has maintained the highest standards of scholarship without al­lowing
her writing to bog down in pedantic trivia.
Note on the author: Charlotte Erickson (Mrs. G. L. Watt) is a lec­turer
on history at the London School of Economics. Dr. Erickson
completed her undergraduate work at Augustana College in Rock
Island, Illinois, as a student of Dr. O. F. Ander. Later she studied
under Professor Paul Gates at Cornell where she received her doc­torate.
The recipient of several research scholarships, Dr. Erickson
spent seven years in preparing this volume. She approaches the
story of the immigrant in America out of a family background which
is predominantly Swedish. Her father's parents emigrated to Ameri­ca
after the Civil War, while her mother is a, descendant of a Swed­ish
pioneer family which settled in Minnesota during the days of
homesteads and sod houses.
JAMES IVERNE DOWIE
A u g u s t a n a C o l l e ge
L I N C O L N I M A G E S ; A U G U S T A N A C O L L E G E C E N T E N N I A L E S ­S
A Y S , O. Fritiof Ander (ed.), Rock Island, Augustana College L i ­brary,
1960. 151 pp., $3.95.
This book offers seven essays on Lincoln, all of them readable and
useful. Two of these are bibliographical; one a survey of the total
Lincoln literature, asking whether anything more remains to be
written on the subjects; the other a useful listing of Lincolniana
available at the Library of Augustana College.
The five substantive essays have to do with aspects of Lincoln's
life. Fritiof Ander's "Lincoln and the Founders of Augustana Col­lege"
has already appeared in this journal [ S w e d i s h P i o n e e r , April,
1960] and needs no review.
T. Harry Williams describes the changing moods of historians as
they have inquired into the causes of the Civil War, and suggests
that different times produce different ideas about the past. The i n ­terested
layman should find in this essay several reliable aids to the
sorting out of "party opinion" among the historians.
Robert Sutton's image of Lincoln as "one of the successful, if not
the most successful, corporation lawyer in the state of Illinois," is
drawn delightfully. He traces the rise of railroads and the rise of
Lincoln in parallel columns as it were, and the resulting vignette will
be especially useful to those who persist in seeing Lincoln as beyond
ordinary mortal cares. In this connection, it is well to remember
Fritiof Ander's comment that the Swedes were not much interested
133